Not Letting Go
by Fairady
Summary: Kon knows he has some problems. He just doesn't want them fixed.
1. Not Letting Go

Warnings: Content some people will consider disturbing. It's violent and has a lot of death and character death. You've been warned, yes?

Disclaimer: These characters and this universe do not belong to me. They are the sole property of DC. I make absolutely no money off of this and ask that you please not sue me.

Notes: Originally written after a year of watching CSI, a certain movie, and reading gory details about the most notorious serial killers in history. Obviously, goes completely AU after Young Justice disbands. Now redone after a year of trying to spork my mind into oblivion.

Not Letting Go  
by Fairady

-

-

Red and blue lights threw crazy patterns around the street turning the cordoned block into something you'd see in a really crappy horror movie. The constant strobing of the police lights was starting to give Kon a headache, but Robin had already told him to quit bitching about it. If the cops didn't keep the spectators back there was a good chance the casualties would spread out of the small area they were contained in.

"You're sure this is the layout?"

The shooter had been very specific about that in the one call the hostage negotiators had been able to get in. Anyone spotted within 300 meters of the place was going to get it. It'd only taken one reporter, trying to sneak in for a good shot, to get his point across. It never stopped being amazing how much damage could be done with a good enough gun and a lot of bullets.

"Yes!" Kid Flash looked offended for all of a second. "I went through each room in there. Why can't I just take the gun? I'll have it broken down before-"

"No."

The fact that the shooter hadn't made any other demands and was still shooting his hostages was what had brought Young Justice in. These situations weren't really their usual kind, but Robin had always been thorough in his training. They weren't exactly Swat but who needed them when you had people who could fly and teleport?

Robin shook his head and bent back over the hand-drawn layout, "It doesn't seem right. I think we're missing something."

"Come on, we have to get in there before psycho man starts shooting again," Wonder Girl twirled her lasso impatiently, eyes locked on the cracked windows of the office.

Every hour one more person was shot. By Kon's watch they actually had a good twenty minutes. He carefully stopped himself from sharing that info with the team. Robin would rip him a new one for assuming, and then Wonder Girl would take what was left just because.

"Right," The police provided pen bled red ink onto the paper. "Kid Flash I want you to do another run of the building to make sure the guy is still in the same spot. The rest of us will come in through the second floor window. Here," Red ink circled it, smudging before it could dry. "When we're in position I want Empress to teleport the wounded out. Get the ones that are worse off out first. Kid Flash will provide the distraction --don't get shot-- and I want everyone to keep an eye out for anything strange."

Empress melted away. It was always kinda disturbing to watch her at work in the night.

"You insult my scouting and now you insult my speed," Kid Flash rolled his eyes slow enough for the act to register. "Nice to see such overwhelming confidence in me."

"Shut it," Kon looked up at the building. The area was ringed with cops and the press. Everything they did would be pumped into every house by the end of the hour. He grimaced and hoped they wouldn't screw it up. "Wonder Girl and I will go after the shooter. Easy plan."

"Stay alert," Robin said and stepped back from the make-shift table. "Anything can go wrong, and I still think we're missing something."

Kon nodded once before lifting off the ground, "Let s go."

-

"Press a little harder. There," Robin examined the woman's wounds closely as Kon held the improvised bandage tightly against her shoulder. "Prop her up, the wound needs to be above her heart, it'll bleed less that way."

Blood soaked through the blue cloth and Kon could feel the warmth of it through the leather of his gloves, it was bright and vivid under the fluorescent lighting. The sight always churned something horrible inside him but he was doing better with it these days. Just as long as he didn't look directly at it he was fine.

"Can you sit up?" The blonde woman shakily nodded and Kon used his TK to help her up. An EMT rushed up and wordlessly took over.

Kon stepped back and glanced around the room. The cops were taking the shooter off of Wonder Girl's hands. The first shock from her lasso had easily subdued the older man; the second had just been a precaution he didn't begrudge her. Empress directed the EMTs to the most gravely injured, and Kid Flash was nowhere to be seen. Kon turned back to Robin and muttered, "What do you think, Robin? Did we do good or not?"

"I'm not sure. Something about this is off and it's really bugging me," Robin narrowed his eyes and slowly scanned the room. Kon waited patiently, doing his own study of the scene. Unsurprisingly, he saw nothing. Whatever was bothering the other boy was beyond the realm of Kon's perception. As usual. "Kon, the shooter is a small man. So why aren't these people's wounds lower?"

"I dunno," Kon paused as two cops led another injured man past them. A torn shirt was pressed tightly on top of his shoulder. He scanned the room again, seeing for the first time where people were bleeding from. "Maybe the guy just shot high?"

"You don't believe that anymore than I do," One gloved hand came out from behind the cape and pointed. "Check that out."

Kon followed Robin's hand. From floor to ceiling the back office wall was made of glass. What little of the panes that hadn't been busted in by their entrance were riddled with bullet holes.

"Tell me our shooter was taking potshots at the cops below," Kon didn't like the thought forming in his head.

Robin smirked, "Only if the guy was doing it from across the street and five more floors up."

"Dammit!" Kon ignored the startled looks from the cops. Why couldn't these things ever be a simple as they appeared? "We've got the wrong guy."

"What do you mean," Empress appeared next to him. Her suit was liberally smeared with blood. "Do you think there was someone else?"

"Too many questions," Robin walked towards the window, "I'm going to check it out. Try talking to the suspect. He might have something interesting to say."

Kon blinked as Robin disappeared. He'd never get used to that. "Let's see what we can get from our guy."

-

Theodore was a pale, scrawny man with a bad stutter and a constant cringe. Or maybe that was just Kon. Robin always got on his case about how scaring people by _looking_ at them wasn't supposed to be his job. He was doing better with that these days too, but only if he consciously reminded himself to _not_ do it.

It worked. Sometimes.

Kon sat back slightly and tried on one of his old disarming smiles. It felt awkward and stretched uncomfortably across his face, but it had to be better than whatever he was doing before. The cop blanched and Theodore flinched, the handcuffs rattled even more. So much for that idea.

"I...I t-told you. I did it. I...I k-killed them."

"You re lying to me," Kon leaned forward and watched the man flinch again. Maybe he really wasn't smiling. Sure, _he_ thought he was smiling but it was hard to tell what other people saw in his face anymore. "There's something else that you're not telling me. I want to know what it is."

Theodore's eyes widened and he cleared his throat before speaking. Once, twice, three-maybe-four more times. "I s-said what hap-happened-"

Theodore squeaked like a dog's chew toy.

Kon stared into Theodore's eyes and lifted him another few inches off the ground. He had to give the man credit, despite his obvious terror he didn't look away from Kon's face. Or maybe it was because of his obvious terror.

This time Kon knew he was smiling, widely and with a lot of teeth. As far from disarming as a smile could get. "You're lying to me Theodore. Now tell me what I want to know and maybe I won't smear you across the pavement."

Theodore held out for all of three seconds.

"The-the man!" Theodore's voice shook with fear. "Said it was a g-game! Every hour I p-pointed the g-gun at someone and h-he killed them! I-if I didn't, I would d-die!"

"Ok, that's good enough," Robin tapped Kon's arm. "You can put him down now. Gently."

An officer caught Theodore as his legs gave and escorted him away. The cop looked back once and Kon could see the unease written on the man's face. Oops. Maybe he'd played it a little too loosely this time. "I don't think I made a good impression."

"You don't know how to, Kon," Robin crossed his arms and nodded towards the opposite building. "I didn't find anyone around there, but I did find a lot of brass on the roof."

"You think he was telling the truth?" Kon looked over as Robin folded his arms under his cape. The blood spattered yellow lining showed briefly before it was hidden again.

"He could be," Robin shrugged. "Or he could be trying to cover his own ass by giving up his friend. I think we should leave it to the police for now."

"Right," Kon checked his watch. It was nearly midnight, the situation had taken them nearly an hour and a half to wrap up. "Time for us to go. Kid Flash!"

"Yes?" Kid Flash slipped up next to him. He was getting better at that. The wind he kicked up wasn't as disruptive as it used to be.

"Tell the police there was another shooter on the building across the street, and head back. We're through here," Kon said as he opened his com link to the rest of the team. "Let's go home."

-

"What sort of person would enjoy forcing someone to choose between their life and another's?" The bed dipped and Kon wondered how long he could ignore Robin. Guilt immediately drowned the thought out, and Kon sat up to face Robin. He wasn't sleeping anyway. "Making someone chose who among his friends will live or die is something only a sadist could enjoy."

"You're asking me? You're the one whose hometown has an asylum as a historical landmark," Kon smiled, the Wonder Boy had a puzzle eating his mind, and no rest would be found until it was solved. "Besides that's only if Theodore was telling the truth, and not lying to save his own sorry ass."

"I think he is telling the truth," Robin smirked. "When did I become the optimist around here?"

"Three years, four months, and nine days ago," Kon smirked back feeling the stretch of scar tissue on the left side of his face. "Give or take a few hours."

"Kon," The mask was gone and in a second Robin became Tim. The differences were nearly unnoticeable and used to disturb him more. "You did your best."

"Not enough. Not nearly enough," The light filtering through the window was too dim to see by, but Kon didn't need it to see the scars on his forearms. The long sleeves of his uniform usually covered them. "I could've done better. I'm sorry."

"Christ, Kon," Tim glared at him. "Do you want me to kick your ass again?"

"No, I'm fine," Kon smiled at Tim's skeptical stare. "Really. I just reserve the right to be bitter about life every now and then. Is that a problem?"

"It is when 'now and then' means from now until then. 'Then' being some unspecified date set off in the very far future," Tim's scowl softened in concern. "Why don't you get some sleep. You look tired."

"I'm always tired," Kon tucked the pillow behind his head, "because someone always interrupts my sleep wanting to talk about gruesome murders."

"Uh, sorry," Tim smiled crookedly and stood up. "This can all wait for tomorrow. I'll leave you alone."

"No!" Kon quickly sat up. "Don't leave."

"Sorry," Tim sat back down.

"It's nothing. I've just gotten used to the nightmares your talks give me. Don't think I could sleep without them now."

Tim settled against the headboard, "You know that's not healthy, Kon."

Kon snorted derisively, "Nothing about my life is 'healthy,' Tim."

"I guess not," Tim tilted his head back and studied the pattern of light and darkness on the ceiling. The silence stretched out for several minutes. "I still think you should talk to someone-"

Tim continued to talk but Kon didn't hear any of it as he drifted off to sleep.

-

Insomnia was a bitch. One of the many specialists he'd been forced to see had said it was a way for his mind to protect itself. In sleep the subconscious drags things up as dreams or nightmares. Things that he might not want to see. Again.

Thus, Kon doesn't sleep much. And the coffee pot has become his new best friend. It's not just his subconscious that's trying to protect him.

"Morning!" Bart is at the table already on his third bowl of cereal before Kon finishes pouring his first cup. Of the hour. He silently swears it'll be his last. Naps are, after all, as good as an entire night of sleep, but only if he isn't too hyped up on caffeine.

A sleepy looking Anita trails into the kitchen and looks hopefully at Kon's carafe. "Mon, that smells really good right now."

Kon sets it down and takes a seat at the table. The coffee is strong and bitter, but he's gotten used to drinking it black. Anita settles in next to him and begins the long process of mixing cream and sugar in exactly equal parts.

Bart slides the sugar closer to her. "You don't look like you got much sleep last night."

"No, I couldn't stop thinking about last night," Anita gratefully accepts the toasted and buttered bagel Bart holds out. "I just can't help feeling that we're gonna see this again, and soon. Very, very soon."

Yay, Kon stares into his empty mug before rising to refill it. He brings the pot back to the table with him. Sometimes having a psychic on hand really sucked.

"We should try to find him," Bart frowns. "Do you think he'll do it in the same city or do you think he might have moved on?"

"I don't know, mon," Anita bites into her bagel before continuing. "What makes you think it's a he, anyway? It could be a she."

"Yes, it's possible," Bart stills and begins to lecture, "but this type of murder is very violent and messy. Few female serial killers kill like that unless there is a personal motive, and as far as we know the killer didn't know any of the victims-"

Kon let the door shut behind him and walked towards his room. He needed to talk to Tim, hopefully the other teen was back from wherever it was he disappeared to at night. A door on his right opened as he passed. Cassie shuffled out of it and yawned a muffled good morning at his back.

Tim wasn't in his rooms. Kon felt a slight stir of panic, but let it subside. He might have gone back to the crime scene to examine it in the light of day. Which wasn't a bad idea. Tim had often said different lighting could bring out different clues.

Kon pulled his thin t-shirt off and started looking for his second uniform. The other one still had blood on it, and the thought of putting it back on made his skin crawl. The spare was in his closet, where he always kept it. "Duh."

Tim thoroughly approved of his new uniform. 'New' was what others called it even though he'd worn it for the past three years. He had the distinct impression that it was because they all hoped he'd change it. Kon didn't know why he should, it was practical. Though he probably could have chosen a color besides black.

The black kevlar vest went over a long sleeved shirt. Its many pockets were designed to hold a lot of different things. Which was only to be expected of anything designed by Batman. Leather gloves, pants, and steel reinforced boots only topped it off. Robin said he looked like a terrorist. Superman thoroughly disapproved of it.

Superman disapproved of a lot of things about Kon though so he really didn't care what the big guy thought of his suit.

It was a lot of protection for someone who had a TK shield that was supposed to make him indestructible. The key words being 'supposed to.' Kon blinked his eyes and took a deep breath forcing himself to ignore the way the twin scars on his left cheek pulled his muscles differently. Now was not the time to be thinking about the past.

He really needed to talk to Tim.

"Going out?" Kon spun around startled and relieved. Tim leaned against the bed's headboard watching him calmly. "You ok?"

"Yeah," Kon cleared his throat and added, "Empress thinks last night is going to happen again, soon. I thought about going back to the scene and looking for things we might've missed."

"That's a good idea," Robin studied him before standing up, "Lets go."

-

"When I said we'd missed something, this isn't quite what I was thinking of," Kon glared down at the report the local police had been kind enough to provide him with.

"It's not exactly uncommon," Robin said as he carefully prowled around the roof scanning everything. "Many serial criminals find their chosen crimes, ah, how should I say this- Exciting?"

"That is so wrong," Kon said. He desperately tried to ward off his metal image of psycho man jacking off. His mental image of psycho man wasn't very pretty to begin with. "Are you seeing anything I'm missing?"

"Hmm," Robin glanced up at him, face carefully blank. "A good night of sleep perhaps. I can see a lot of things you're missing, Kon."

"I meant the scene, smartass," Kon narrowed his eyes, "and I'm missing a little more than a bit of sleep."

"That's an understatement," Tim's voice was low and soothing, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Kon shook his head mutely and refused to look up at Tim.

"Kon," Tim's voice was louder, he was probably standing next to him. "I think you should talk to someone. Anyone would do, even me."

He was right. Tim was always right. Kon wanted to talk to someone, anyone. He really wanted to talk to Tim, but he was too afraid. He didn't even want to think about it. Denial, the specialists called it, which always made Kon want to laugh. He wasn't denying anything. He couldn't. He just chose not to think about it too much.

"How can I talk to you?" He finally asked. "You're part of it."

He heard Tim shift beside him. The long cape rustled slightly before becoming silent once again. A lie. He knew damn well that he didn't hear anything.

Except the low hum of an approaching speedster.

"Hey!" Kid Flash stopped next to him. Agitation causing the roof to vibrate with him and destroying what little evidence might have been left. Kon had come to understand and appreciate Tim's strict policy on keeping him away from crime scenes. "We've been trying to get a hold of you. Why don't you have your communicator on? Anita thinks the bad guy will do this again, and he'll do it soon. We want to stop him before he does it again, and we could really use your thoughts on how to do it. Why are you here anyway? Did you find anything?"

"No," Kon looked up at him. "Go back. I'll be there."

"Fine," Kid Flash was gone before Kon noticed his scowl. He'd pissed Bart off again. Great.

Kon shook his head and looked around the empty roof. Soon? Yeah, the guy would kill again soon. It looked like he'd had a grand party before. He was probably anxious to do it again.

Not if he could help it. Kon smirked as he lifted off and headed back.

-

Kon sat back resisting the urge to check the clock. Again.

The computer ran through a thousand databases and whatever the hell else it was programmed to look through. It probably wasn't anywhere near what Batman had, but Tim had been damn proud of it when he finished upgrading it. So far it had worked well for Kon. It hadn't crashed, always brought up what he wanted, and had withstood innumerable games and music being downloaded onto it.

That didn't mean it was fast.

"Thirty-five minutes," Kon looked away from the clock irritated. "Does this thing need an upgrade or something?"

"It could always use one," Robin hadn't looked away from the screen since it had started it's search. Kon wouldn't be surprised if he'd caught each name that flashed by, "but that's not why it's running slow. There's a lot of excess programming on it taking up space."

"Again?" Kon scowled. "Fucking Kazaa."

"Hmm," Robin smiled slightly, "Either that or Bart has been downloading databases again. It could just be the network, it does go through a lot of databases and archives."

Kon said nothing. He itched to check the clock again, but knew that would be the worst possible thing he could do. He wanted to be out, where ever the fucker was, fighting. They had a vague timeline for the next crime, but no clue where it'd be.

He hated doing nothing. "What are the chances we'll get a hit that is our guy?"

"Pretty good actually," Robin looked away from the screen, "The problem will be in trying to figure out which of the hits will be our most likely suspect. What do we know about him?"

"That he's a fucking psycho?" Robin looked at him. "Yeah, yeah. He's a sadist who gets off on the pain he causes. We know he's going to pull this shit again, soon."

"Yes, what else? We know more than that," Robin folded his arms under his cape and gave him his patient face.

Kon sighed, Tim was obviously in one of his teaching moods. "We know he uses a long range weapon with some sort of scope, maybe a silencer too since none of the officers heard any of his shots. He was able to get on the top of the one building that allowed him a clear shot at Theodore's office. Which means he might have scoped the place out befo-"

"No," Robin cut him off abruptly, "Now you're inferring. Just stick with what we know right now."

"Not much else that we do know," Kon shrugged. "Police are running DNA samples right now. Maybe they'll get something, maybe they won't. He killed seven people and hurt five others. Oh, and he likes White Castle and Colas."

"We don't know that. The bags and cans were just found in the area the sniper was. It could've been left there by anyone."

"Then 'anyone' must've had a good look at the guy cause some of the burgers were still hot when the cops went up."

"You're still inferring that the sniper actually likes White Castle and Coke," Robin smirked as he easily avoided Kon's halfhearted kick. "Not bad, now tell me what you can construct from these facts."

"That he's psychotic," Kon muttered. He hated this stuff. He wasn't a very good thinker, that was what Tim was for. "He needs this to get off. He knows how to use a long range rifle with scope and silencer. He might be military or just a nut job who likes guns. He scopes out the place he's gonna hit before hand. He's probably fat from all the junk he eats, and he probably wears a neon green tutu. Now what the hell do you know that you aren't telling me?"

"Two things," Robin smirked. "That he's done something like this before. This is too violent for a first time crime. He'll have a history of violence. Most likely rape considering some of the evidence found. He could have even been put in prison for it."

"Then why are we running this search? The police have his DNA they'll find who he is faster than this," Kon shook his head at Robin's scathing look. "Yeah, I know. Don't rely completely on something cause then it'll fail. What's the second thing?"

"There's a White Castle behind the building he was at, and it has a surveillance system."

Some days Kon really wanted nothing more than to strangle him.

-

The videos were a complete waste of time. Not only had the police already gotten there, they'd also left them there. Kon didn't understand why someone would spend the several hundreds of dollars those damn things cost and not pay a measly five bucks for a pack of ten tapes. Reusing the same tape over and over again had left the images shapeless and colorless. Kon wasn't sure if he was looking at their guy or the trash can.

"Damn," Kon left the tiny closet that was the manager's office. "Any other bright ideas."

"Not really," Robin shrugged. "You could ask the workers about him."

"Yeah, cause you know the police haven't already done that."

"S-sir? Did you say something?" The manager looked up at him nervously, eyes darting around and not quite meeting his.

"I'm finished," Kon stepped away from the door and the manager eagerly scuttled in. He was sure the man hadn't been half as polite or accommodating to the police. Kon smirked and headed towards the front where a couple of high school kids stared at him.

"Be nice," Robin warned him.

Right. Kon cleared his throat, "I know the police already asked you this, but I-"

"The cops never asked us anything," One of the teens interrupted him.

"They didn't?"

"Nope, just came and asked Marty for the tapes and talked to him," The other one offered. "Not like he'd know anything. He never leaves his office."

"Just so you know," Robin didn't look smug but he was radiating 'told you so' vibes. "Police officers don't always do their jobs as thoroughly as they should the first time around. Especially when they have a mountain of other things to worry about."

Great, Kon sighed. "Either of you remember seeing anyone odd come in here lately. I mean regularly."

"See a lot of people here," The first kid shrugged.

"Ok, someone odd," Kon continued over Tim's snorted laughter. "Like maybe an older guy, a little fat, and angry. Very violent."

The teens look at him with blank faces. Tim laughed harder, "Do you know how many people you've just described?"

"Well excuse me," Kon glared down at him. "When I find him I'll make sure to tell him to not act like a million other people so we can find him easier. Wait, I'll tell him to wear a neon green tutu. That'll be easy to find."

Tim shook his head and pointed at the kids, "I think you're scaring them."

Kon looked back, both of the kids had backed away several more feet and looked ready to bolt. Couldn't be helped, "Whatever, just call the police if you remember anything."

He'd almost made it out the door when one of them spoke.

"There was this one guy, he came in a few times a week. He's like you said, but I remember him cause he always talked to himself, you know. He'd stand there and look at the menu and talk really low," the boy coughed nervously, "but not like he was wondering what to get or anything. Like he was actually talking to someone."

Great, Kon turned back, "Tell me about him."

-

Credit cards were the best invention in the world. So easy to use and so easy to track down. Kon watched the numbers fly across the screen proud that he'd finally gotten it right. It had only taken a year of Robin sighing in defeat for him to learn the relatively simple hack.

"Don't get too confident," Robin leaned over his shoulder. "Next time we'll disable the system that deals with firewalls. You'll love dealing with firewalls."

"Jerk," Kon muttered.

"Look," Robin pointed at the screen. The information for a Ms. Sadi P. Aurel of twenty-three years flashed on the screen. "Stolen card."

Kon scanned through the detailed screen. "Why hasn't it been reported stolen? This guy's had it for nearly two weeks now. I'm sure even the stupidest person would have noticed it was gone by now."

"Unless they're not in a position to notice anything," Robin murmured. "Search social security."

Kon looked up sharply before opening two more windows. While the program searched through social security's database, Kon quickly scanned the short list his Google search had brought up. "Nothing saying she's missing or otherwise on the net," a ping turned his attention back to the database, "and she's still considered legally alive."

Another, louder ping drew both their attentions away. Kon brought up the results of his first search. Raymond Decova, thirty-three years old, brown eyes, and brown hair. There was a nice picture showing the balding overweight man holding a placard with his prison number on it. Last known activity, paroled on good behavior from eight years for abducting and illegally detaining a woman, and fifteen more years for rape and battery of said woman. The victim was a young prostitute named S.P. Aurel.

"I think it would be best if we checked in on Ms. Aurel's apartment," Robin said quietly.

-

"Sorry, mon," Empress answered softly. "There's no one alive in that apartment. We're too late."

"You're sure?" Kon demanded harshly.

"Her spirit's still there, screaming," Empress turned away from the building. "She went through a lot of pain before she died. I'm not going in there. I'll walk the streets and see if he's near. Someone covered in that much blood shouldn't be hard to find."

Kon watched Empress disappear into the shadows a worried Wonder Girl following. The sun was just about to rise and he could already tell that today wasn't going to be a good day.

"That is a good idea," Robin said gesturing after the departed women. "He might still be in the area."

Kon turned to a grim Kid Flash, "Go the other way, you have that picture of him."

"You sure about that, Kon?" The speedster flickered uncertainly around him.

"Go," Kon turned back to the building in time to see Robin disappear. Kon entered the broken lobby door and looked around. The building was old and worn down which meant it was cheap. The few people he encountered on his way up to the third floor looked as worn as their surroundings. None of them paid the slightest bit of attention to him, some even deliberately looked away.

The third floor was quiet and clear of people. Robin crouched down near a door at the end of the hall.

"Broken lock," he muttered absently. "But I'm not sure if it was broken from the inside or outside. The door is open."

Kon gently nudged the door open with his TK. From the door the apartment was dark and still. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Robin glided in silently and Kon floated after him. By now the sun had started to rise and enough light came in through the windows for him to get a good look around. The main room was divided into a kitchenette and a living room with two partially opened doors to the left. It was a complete mess.

The kitchen was littered with old pizza boxes and crumpled fast food bags. Dishes filled the sink, and the trash overflowed onto the floor. A worn green couch was surrounded by various brands of empty or half full beer cans. A blanket and pillow left on it made it obvious someone had been sleeping on it.

Robin scanned the room briefly before turning to the doors. He pointed to the left one which Kon carefully pushed open. The partially closed shades made the bedroom darker than the main room. Kon didn't need the light to let him smell the blood though. The bed looked to be soaked in it. A large dark patch in the center with several smaller spots around it. Kon took a deep breath and floated in. Closer to the bed he could see several length of frayed rope tied at the base and head board. The room was small and bare of anything else but the bed and a dresser. There was nothing else in it.

Back in the main room Robin was already waiting at the second door. Kon pushed it open and stared in the darkness. It was a small bathroom with no window of it's own. It smelled like blood as well. Reaching out Kon gently felt around and flipped the light switch. The room was done in a lime green color, and Ms. Aurel's blood clashed horribly with it.

Robin walked in, avoiding the soaked rug, and looked down into the bathtub. The woman was barely recognizable under the blood and mangled flesh. Empress was right. She'd had a long and painful death.

Kon left Robin and turned to the apartment. He methodically began to look through what was there being careful not to disturb the scene too much. There were several White Castle bags bearing the same address as the one he'd gone to earlier. That supported the theory that the man went ahead to scout out the place he was going to hit. With that in mind he took a closer look at the bags.

"Anything useful?" Robin came out as Kon was examining a greasy Taco Bell wrapper.

Kon gestured at the wrapper, "All these bags are fresher than the others. I think the next place he'll hit will be near it."

"We'll need to go there soon," Robin frowned. "But I don't want to leave the apartment uncovered. It's obvious he's been living here, and there's no reason for him to not come back here first. Call Wonder Girl and Kid Flash back. They can keep watch here."

"Yeah," Kon reached for his communicator, "I'll have Empress meet near the Taco Bell."

-

Empress knelt close to the ground her body rigid and completely still. Kon stood behind her and waited impatiently. It was taking her longer this time to find the killer's trail. He was wondering if psychic blood wore off when the woman's left arm rose slowly. The amulet suspended from her wrist seemed to weigh it down as it swung to the right, "That way."

Kon grabbed her arm and flew them up into the air. They were three blocks away from where they started and the business buildings were giving way to residential homes. He didn't think it was because their guy liked to take scenic routes either. It was also getting harder to hide their presence. A group of awed kids waved and shouted as they flew overhead. If they didn't find the guy soon, he'd have ample warning of their coming just by the crowd flocking to follow the two heroes.

"We should have called the police."

Kon started and blinked down at Empress.

"About the woman," she continued, "and Decova."

Plain clothes officers would have been more helpful now. Easier to blend in the area, but Empress would still stick out and her skills were needed to track the man down. The apartment would have been immediately processed as a crime scene no matter how much easier it would be to just leave it for a few more hours. If the psycho tried to go back the police and inevitable crowds of gawkers and media would scare him off. If they were to have any chance of catching him, it had to be now and without the police.

"We don't have the time to deal with it," Kon flew lower as they entered a small wooded area. "We'll call them after we've got him."

Kon slowed as the trees began to thin out, and dropped to the ground when he got a clear look at what was on the other side.

"Mon," Empress whispered as she watched the mass of children laughing and swarming around the playground. "We'd better do it fast."

-

A flash of yellow caught his eye and Kon walked up to the slightly darker than normal shadow. "About time you caught up. So how do you like the sicko's new scheme so far?"

Robin looked at him carefully folding his cape around him, "Where's Anita covering?"

"She has the east end," Kon nodded towards the heavily tree infested area. Of the two of them Kon's uniform was less likely to draw attention so he got the west end. "Empress says she can't get a better lock on his location unless she gets close to him. He's been all around here the past few weeks."

"You know where you're going to look first, right?" Robin asked.

"Yeah," Kon turned back towards the road and looked up at the apartment building. The street was lined with them, but of all the buildings this one was the tallest and would have the best possible angle for the killer. If their guy was up there he would soon be in for a rude surprise.

"Lets go," Robin said quietly and disappeared.

Kon nodded to the empty shadow and casually walked across the street. The front door was locked and Kon paused to debate going up from inside as opposed to going around the back and flying up. The sound of three bullets being fired quickly followed by several shrilling screams decided it for him.

Kon flew up the side of the building his sight set on the barrel of some sort of an assault rifle sticking out over the edge. He blew past the roof easily ripping it out of the man's hands. Kon dropped the crushed weapon and himself onto the roof behind the cursing man.

Raymond Decova glared up at him while holding his bleeding hands. Kon had never seen an uglier human being in his life. Sweat ran down his pudgy face as he started screaming. Something about conspiracies or some other shit. Kon didn't care what it was, he snarled back at him, and slowly walked towards the man. He could hear a woman's sobbing screams.

"Kon," Tim's low voice came from behind him. "Back off."

"Why?" Kon turned to face his friend. The woman, the kids, and Anita's strained voice burned through his ears. "Why not?!"

Tim stared up at him calmly, mask gone and cape open, "You know why."

"You think you have me!" Decova's scream ripped Kon's attention back. "Well, you don't! I ain't never going back!"

Decova pulled two handguns from inside his jacket and pointed both towards them. The guns spat bullets wildly as Decova couldn't control the recoil. Kon instinctively jumped in front of Tim and watched the laughing man fire his useless bullets. Decova dropped the gun in his right hand as the clip ran out and, still laughing, raised the one in his left to his temple.

"Kon!" Robin screamed as they both leapt forward.

Decova jumped as the bullet tore through his head, his body fell to the side and the gun skittered past Kon's feet. He was dead before his body bounced on the concrete.

-

A 6-year-old girl died at the park. The little girl and boy who'd been playing in the sandbox with her were both in critical condition at Riley's hospital. The last report wasn't very optimistic on the boy's chances of survival. The park was a nightmare swarming with police and loud reporters. The children and parents had been released an hour earlier. Kon ignored several loud questions from the reporters and watched a man carefully take pictures of the sand box. It was hard to tell from his position, but he was sure the sand had already absorbed the blood.

Anita finished her statement and the detective quietly thanked her. She returned to the group, blood easily standing out against the purple and gold of her uniform. Her voice was subdued and she didn't look any of them in the face, "They're finished with their questions. I'm going home now."

"I'll take you there," Kid Flash picked her up and ran off. Wonder Girl quickly followed.

Kon looked at the sand box once more before leaving. The sun would set in a few hours. He turned south and sped off. The city disappeared quickly and gave way to open land crisscrossed with random roads. It wasn't long before the familiar city came into sight. Kon slowed down and landed.

The grave was fairly simple considering the elaborate markers that surrounded it. Fresh flowers lay in front of it. Kon wondered who'd brought them.

"I think it was Alfred," Tim walked up to stand next to him. "Those look like the kind he has growing in the garden."

"I wouldn't know," Kon said softly. "I should come here more often."

Tim sighed and circled the stone to face him. "You're here far too often, Kon."

Kon closed his eyes and shrugged. He really couldn't face Tim right now, "Just go away. Please."

He'd heard their screams as if he was standing right next to them. He heard all of their screams, their curses, their pleadings. He heard everything that happened in the whole country, and in a few more years he'd hear everything throughout the world. To hear it and not be able to do a damn thing about it. Tim once said-

Kon opened his eyes. Tim was gone and the graveyard was empty.

While Decova had started his ranting Kon had heard the dead little girl. He'd heard her whimper and the wet sound of her breathing. He'd heard Anita's voice soothing the girl telling her everything was alright. Sobbing hiccups from someone else. The girl hadn't cried, she couldn't even breath right. Her gasping was short and fast, too fast. He'd heard it all, he'd heard-

_-breathing fast. Too fast, too fast. The blood was everywhere and he didn't know whose it was. It was everywhere and he couldn't see through the stinging fire in his eyes. God no, please no._

_"Go, go," the voice croaked through gasps. And Kon held on tighter flying somewhere, anywhere. He didn't know where he was going but he needed-_

"-help," Tim knelt next to where he'd collapsed. His mask gone again. One bare hand hovered over his shoulder. "You need to get help, Kon."

"No," Kon whispered shaking his head tears sliding down his face. "No, no, no, no...."

"Please," Tim pleaded with him, face tight withholding emotion. "You're hurting yourself."

"No," Kon doubled over hands digging furrows into the thick grass. He began to sob, "I c-can't, I...."

"Kon," Tim sighed and looked down. His cape was open and spread around him, the yellow garishly stained red from the deep wounds in his chest. The wounds Kon's hands hadn't been able to stop from bleeding. "You've got to let this go."

"No!" Kon shut his eyes blocking out the illusion --_delusion_-- next to him. The wounds had been so big and so deep, he got one of his hands stuck inside it. And it kept bleeding. It wouldn't stop.

_-blue, blue eyes filled with fear and --no, no!-- resignation._

_He couldn't find the mask, it was gone and he didn't know what to do now. He couldn't go anywhere like this. Robin would get angry if his face was seen. He had to find it. Had to...._

_"Ok, it's ok," croaking whisper, blood slid down his mouth and Tim smiled. He-_

Kon wrapped his arms around his stomach tightly and pressed his face into the cool grass. Still shaking he turned his head towards Tim's stone. Tim's grave.

_"-on," he could barely hear him, "Kon...." still._

_Tim was still. He couldn't hear anything, he couldn't hear his breathing, he couldn't hear. No. He said it or he screamed it. He held Tim tightly and flew._

_He held on. He-_

The graveyard was empty. Kon shakily rose to his feet and wiped at his face. Utter emotional breakdown complete. He was doing better with that too. It only happened once every few months now.

As the sun set he prepared to leave. He took several deep breaths and looked down at the grave, "I can't. I can't let go, Tim."

-

-

I'm going to burn my copy of the Sixth Sense. I'm deeply sorry about the cliche you could see a mile away. It refused to be written any other way. *goes to find her other copy of the damnable movie*

-


	2. Don't Let Go

Disclaimer: Own not, and make no money.

Warnings: Character death.

Notes: Stupid thing's been running around my head for years now, and it won't go away. Also, not making a seperate upload since you have to read the original fic for this to even make sense.

Don't Let Go  
by Fairady

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Kon talks to Robin.

Bart's read enough psychology books to know it's not right. He knows he should say something, get his friend the help he so desperately needs. He knows it but he doesn't say anything.

Because sometimes when Kon talks to himself he sounds ok. Like he did years ago when everything was still alright. Sometimes he even smiles, and it's like nothing has ever happened. It makes Bart wonder if it really is all that bad after all. And maybe-

Bart blinks. He rarely cries anymore, none of them do, but when he thinks about Kon talking to himself...when he thinks about who he is talking to...

When Bart catches Kon talking to himself he can't help but think that maybe he's not just talking to some delusion his mind has conjured up. Sometimes -most of the time- he thinks that Kon really is talking to Robin, and that Robin really is talking back.

Each time he catches Kon doing it, he stays a little longer. Looks a little harder. And lately he thinks he's beginning to see something, starting to hear something whenever Kon is around and not looking at anyone visible. Yesterday, Bart caught a glimpse of a cape from the corner of his eye.

And that's why Bart keeps on not saying anything to anyone, why he won't turn to Superman or any of the adults for help with Kon. He's starting to think that Kon doesn't need any help at all. Robin on the other hand probably does, and Bart has already been making inquiries.

Subtle ones of course, and yes, he knew how to do it. It was easy when most people still only saw him as Impulse, and Impulse had been known to ask a lot of weird questions just for the hell of it. Especially with Zatanna. Bart won't say anything specific though. Not until he's absolutely sure of what he thinks is going on. Not until after he's talked to Kon about it.

Not until after he's talked to Robin.

One of these days, Bart thinks, he's going to stumble across Kon again and his friend won't be alone.

It's- it's a comforting thought. Bart takes a deep breath and blinks back more tears.

.

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End file.
